On achieving the state's household recycling target: A case study of Northern New Jersey, USA
- Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)
In recent times, the State of New Jersey (USA) has been making attempts at promoting recycling as an environmentally friendly means of attaining self-sufficiency at waste disposal, and the state has put in place a 50% recycling target for its municipal solid waste stream. While the environmental benefits of recycling are obvious, a recycling program must be cost effective to ensure its long-term sustainability. In this paper, a linear programming model is developed to examine the current state of recycling in selected counties in Northern New Jersey and assess the needs to achieve the state's recycling goal in these areas. The optimum quantities of waste to be sent to the different waste facilities, which include landfills, incinerators, transfer stations, recycling and composting plants, are determined by the model. The study shows that for these counties, the gap between the current waste practices where the recycling rate stands at 32% and the state's goal can be bridged by more efficient utilization of existing facilities and reasonable investment in expanding those for recycling activities.
- OSTI ID:
- 21217134
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 29, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2008.06.041; PII: S0956-053X(08)00260-2; Copyright (c) 2008 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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